A Sandwich A Day: Roasted Pear and Brie Melt at Satsuma Cafe in New Orleans

In this great country of ours, one could eat a different sandwich every day of the year—so that's what we'll do. Here's A Sandwich a Day, our daily look at sandwiches around the country. Got a sandwich we should check out? Let us know.—The Mgmt.

[Photograph: Abby McCartney]

Everyone has a happy dance, right? It's the inadvertent shimmy you do when you get a long-awaited package in the mail or open the email inviting you to interview for your dream job. Or, in my case, when you find out that the delicious cafe you've only been to once or twice because it's located in a really inconvenient neighborhood is opening a second location 5 blocks from your front door. Happy dance time!

Satsuma Cafe (named for a local citrus fruit) is a beloved breakfast-and-lunch spot in the Marigny, a quirky neighborhood that's kind of like the Brooklyn of New Orleans. Luckily for those of us who don't enjoy finding parking on its winding, one-way streets before we've had our pancakes, they recently opened an Uptown location. The new spot is colorful and sunny, with the same fresh, creative, vegetarian-friendly menu as the original location.

On my first visit to this new outpost, I tried the Roasted Pear and Brie Melt ($8), which came with a spinach salad. If you're a brie fan, you will love this sandwich: the cheese has just the right amount of funk and oozes from all corners. The pears are tender and sweet, but not mushy, giving the sandwich a nice, chewy bite. In my opinion, the balsamic glaze could have been a little more prominent, and the sourdough bread didn't add much. Next time I would probably go for the wheat. Still, this sandwich, and the rest of the menu, is a more than welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Satsuma Cafe

About the author: A native Texan, Abby McCartney now lives, works, and eats in New Orleans, where she teaches high school math by day and explores the city's rich food culture by night. She makes a mean chocolate chip pecan pie, loves avocado on everything, and is learning to like yogurt.

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